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Maharashtra Faces Outcry After Contractor’s Suicide Over ₹1.4 Crore Jal Jeevan Mission Dues

Officials have submitted funding proposals to clear outstanding bills after a contractor’s suicide over ₹1.4 crore in unsettled Jal Jeevan Mission dues

Image
The Sangli-based contractor had gone missing since Tuesday night, and his body was found in his farm on Wednesday. According to Vikram Patil, assistant police inspector from Kurlap police station, Walwa, he died by hanging himself to a branch of a tree. (Representative Image)
Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and others arrive at the Vidhan Bhavan for the Monsoon session of the state Assembly, in Mumbai, Friday, July 18, 2025. (PTI Photo) (PTI07_18_2025_000243B) (PTI)
A day after a Sangli-based contractor died by suicide allegedly over pending dues of ₹1.40 crore for work related to the state’s Jal Jeevan Mission, the government claimed he was a sub-contractor, and not appointed by the government. (Representative photo) (HT)

Overview

  • Harshal Patil, a 35-year-old engineer from Sangli’s Walwa tehsil, died by suicide on July 23 after waiting months for ₹1.4 crore owed for Jal Jeevan Mission work
  • Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said Patil was a sub-contractor with no direct government contract and that payments are made only to primary contractors
  • Opposition leader Jayant Patil and contractors’ bodies warn that stalled payments could trigger a wave of contractor suicides similar to long-standing farmer tragedies
  • Contractors’ associations report a ₹90,000 crore backlog across multiple departments and note central funding for the Jal Jeevan Mission has been frozen since October 2024, leaving the state to cover full costs
  • Officials have sent funding proposals to the finance department to clear pending bills and police have opened a case to probe the circumstances of Patil’s death